BUGS

HORIZON ZERO DAWN
SAMPLE CUTSCENE

For this fanfic piece, I played with minimal dialogue and heavy tension.

/pre-cutscene: exploration, hunting

Cutscene plays on POI approach.

/begin cutscene

EXT. NORA HUNTING GROUNDS - DAY
(client worldport: xxxxx)

First person view: 

We fly in lazy, easy swoops, accompanied by a soothing, low hum. The tall grass and treetops below us, bathed in the sun’s warm rays, ripples gently in the breeze. In the distance, a herd of GRAZERS rests within its patrols. 

We give the herd only a passing glance before focusing again on the grass. We drop, moving closer to the ground, and then --

-- movement in the grass. We zero in.

We dive, graceful and swift, through the treetops. The humming intensifies as we level out and speed over the blade-sharp tips of the grass. Descending closer to the ground, we hear a buzzing and snapping sound that crescendos; the tripwire comes into sight a split second before we rise up again, just in time to avoid electrocution. The electric buzzing fades. 

And then: we see her.

ALOY lays on her belly, hidden in the red grass. Circling above, we see the tripwires surrounding her on four sides. Her head rests on one bent elbow. Her tripcaster sits beside her. As we circle closer, we see that she is napping.

Her face fills the frame. We land on her cheek and --

-- a slap, and all goes black.

The humming ceases. There is only the faint sound of the tripwires now.

Third person view: 

ALOY pulls her hand away from her face and peers at it. On her upturned palm lies the smashed remains of a BUG. But it is not an organic insect. It is a tangled mess of wire and finely-wrought exo-casing. One antenna is broken in half. At the tip of the other, a red light blinks, fades, then goes dark.

ALOY’s eyes widen.

ALOY
dread, irritation

Oh no.

ALOY grips her tripcaster and rolls onto her back.

The humming returns, louder now. Bigger. Like a wasp’s nest. 

The GRAZERS flee.

The sunlight through the grass and trees blinks out, then shines again as THE QUEEN, a giant machine bug, drifts into view. Surrounding her are more BUGS.

ALOY rises to a crouch. Her eyes never leaving THE QUEEN, she swipes the remnants of its BUG child off her trousers.

/end cutscene